''Bondarzewia mesenterica'' (synonym: ''Bondarzewia montana'') is a species of

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypor ...

fungus in the family Bondarzewiaceae. It was first described as ''Boletus mesentericus'' by

Jacob Christian Schäffer Jacob Christian Schäffer, alternatively Jakob, (31 May 1718 – 5 January 1790) was a German dean, professor, botanist, mycologist, entomologist, ornithologist and inventor. Biography From 1736 to 1738 he studied Theology at the University of ...

in 1774.

Hanns Kreisel Hanns Kreisel (16 July 1931 – 18 January 2017) was a German mycologist and professor emeritus. He was born in Leipzig in 1931. Kreisel was a professor at the University of Greifswald. His field was the classification of fungi, where he has studi ...

transferred it to the genus ''

Bondarzewia ''Bondarzewia'' is a widely distributed genus of fungi in the family Bondarzewiaceae. The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a Germany, German-born mycologist and one of the ...

'' in 1984. The species is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

. The species grows at the base of conifers, developing from a

sclerotium A sclerotium (; (), is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until favo ...

. The caps are tomentose with brownish zones, fan-shaped, often overlapping and growing from a shared base. The flesh is whitish with a pleasant odour when fresh. The species affects tree bases and roots with a

white rot A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

References

External links

* Edible fungi Fungi described in 1774 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Russulales Taxa named by Jacob Christian Schäffer {{Russulales-stub